2/27/2009

My brother's got a few weekly routines that he adheres pretty strictly to. Here are two of my favorites (aka: the most original)...

Sundays: Every Sunday after church and lunch, my bro takes out a tupperware tub full of Hot Wheels and lines them up on his bed. There's a little method to the madness. All public service vehicles (police cars, ambulances, firetrucks) go in their own line, in front of the tupperware lid. All Hot Wheels with the picture of wrestlers' faces on them (sweet right?) go in the front row of the crowd. Motorcycles go along the side. He also takes out several policeman statues that he has and stands them up on the tupperware lid. Toy guns go next to that. On his pillows are two sets on 3D glasses, a set of ear muffs, and a policeman's hat.

He does this every Sunday... He waits until it gets dark to put them up.

Tuesdays: Every Tuesday night, Caleb eats the same thing for supper. He pops a bag of popcorn, puts it in a mixing bowl, and adds in some saltines and roasted peanuts. Not quite sure how this is filling. But, hey... He likes it...

2/23/2009

The youth ministries department will be putting on a retreat for graduates of the program. I'm not exactly sure if there's theme, but I do know that three of my best friends in the world will be there, as well as other guys from college that i haven't seen in almost 7 years. Oh, and the school is picking up the hotel and food tab too.

2/16/2009

Over the past few weeks I've noticed that whenever I want to emphasize the importance of something (or emphasize the importance of my opinion of it), I begin my declaration with "FACT". I, of course, accept these things as truth regardless of their actual veracity. A concept that's known as "truthiness". Editor's Note: Thank you Stephen...

I decided that these nuggets of wisdom deserved a home. So I'll be collecting them here, in yet another ongoing post series called (and I know the originality of this title will blow your mind) "FACT". And while each volume may vary in length, it will never vary in truthiness or in its ability to change your life from here to the end of time...

2/14/2009

It's been a while since I've posted one of these. But something that I heard yesterday has been ringing in my head ever since. And that's usually when I know that something is worthy of being an Important Thought...

With the oscars coming up soon, I've tried to see all of the best picture nominees. Yesterday, I saw The Reader starring Kate Winslet. Not only is it nominated for Best Picture, but Kate Winslet is nominated for Best Actress for her role as Hannah Schmitz. (Rather than trying to summarize the story here, I'll just let you check out the trailer at the link above.)

In one scene in the movie, the lead male character, Michael Berg, is sitting in his law classroom talking with his professor. And it's a line that the professor speaks that has stuck with me...

"If people like you don't learn from what happened to people like me, then what the hell is the point of anything?"

I've been serving in ministry for a long time. And one of the things that brings me the most joy and fulfillment is teaching others about God. And I think one of the reasons I love it so much is that I love to learn. I love to gain understanding of God and the world from other people. (I wish I did it more often, so that I could save myself the trouble that comes from learning the hard way.) And then, I love communicating what I've learned to others.

One thing that I often say while teaching is that being a teacher doesn't mean that I'm any smarter, holier, or better than my students. It just means that I've been around longer to make more mistakes, learn from them, and try to help others to not repeat my folly.

So I suppose that this line speaks to me at such a deep level because I'm both a teacher and a student. And I hope and pray I'll always remain both...

2/07/2009

...but my phone is still acting up. I tried for about 15 minutes to get the camera to start up. But it wouldn't. So you'll have to make due with a picture from Amazon.

I can't explain why some things jump out at me. They just do. Maybe it's because I've worked with Middle School students for so long. But, as I walked through Circuit City yesterday, this CD just screamed at me from the shelf...

And if you can't figure out why this is funny, then there's nothing I can do for you...

2/04/2009

Are you a fan of puns? What am I saying? Of course you are... Then you should check out That's Punny. It's an ongoing collection of puns found in the titles of businesses, products, and other things...

Caleb and I were hanging around the house this afternoon. While he was watching TV, I decided to do something productive. So I started to go through one of our hall closets. The closet that I chose was my old book closet from when I was a kid.

So I thought I'd post a few of the books that I remember being my favorites...

I must have read each of these a thousand times...

These were actually my first music books along with some of the first books that got me interested in drawing. Oh and, on the side, a comic book version of Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey...

2/02/2009

My cell phone's camera has been on the fritz lately. It only starts up about a quarter of the time that I want it to. So, a few days ago while I was in World Market, I was stoked that it woke up to capture this...

Let me state for the record that I don't drink. But I do enjoy a good pun. And you can't do much better than He'Brew: The Chosen Beer. Just so you know, it comes in Messiah Bold and Genesis Ale...

Lisa sent me an email earlier today that was titled "The Worst Album Covers of All Time". After looking through it, the light of Heaven shined upon me. It brought peace, joy, and enlightenment. It also brought a word from the Lord. His message? "Josh, this is what I want you to do..."